Kon Knueppel’s 15 points led six Duke players in double-figure scoring as the No. 7 Blue Devils blew out visiting Army 100-58 on Friday night at Durham, N.C.
Tyrese Proctor, who matched Knueppel’s four 3-point field goals, had 14 points, Cooper Flagg tallied 13 points, reserve Sion James added 12 points and Khaman Maluach and Caleb Foster each notched 11 points for Duke (2-0), which compiled 57 second-half points.
Flagg, the highest-rated freshman nationally entering the season, missed time in the second half for the second game in a row in what appeared to be another case of cramping. He scored all his points in the first half.
Jalen Rucker had 17 points and Josh Scovens added 16 points to lead Army (1-1). Rucker racked up five of the Black Knights’ eight 3-point baskets, but the rest of the team shot 3-for-20 from beyond the arc.
The Blue Devils built their lead to more than 30 points less than seven minutes into the second half to cruise to their second home victory in advance of their clash with No. 23 Kentucky on Tuesday in Atlanta.
Duke was on target from deep, hitting 17 of 38 attempts from beyond the arc. Nine players made at least one 3 for the Blue Devils.
The Blue Devils held a 50-32 rebounding advantage, bolstered by Maluach’s 14 rebounds and Flagg’s 11 boards.
Duke led 43-20 at halftime. The Blue Devils shot 35 percent from the field in the first half, but made up for much of that by collecting 15 offensive rebounds.
Duke made seven first-half 3-pointers, which was one more than the Black Knights’ field-goal total before the break.
Army shot 21.4 percent before halftime, including 2-for-15 on 3s. Scovens, playing about an hour from his hometown of Greensboro, had half of the Black Knights’ first-half points.
Army had a better second half, scoring 20 points in the first nine points to match the first-half output but that offense wasn’t enough to keep up with Duke.
–Field Level Media
